Stoby over powers Williamson, Farley in last mile of 10K

During training his runs, Reuben Stoby ran the Ceres Juices 10K Series course from Carrot Bay to Smugglers Cove and return, faster than the 42 minutes and 20 seconds he covered it on Saturday.

But then, he ran alone. There was no cat and mouse game and he didn’t have pressure from Guy Williamson nor Julius Farley over the scenic hilly course on Tortola’s north west coast that also offered a bit of off road running.

“The plan was just to stay with the guys because the pace was really good so I had to be careful not to fall behind,” noted Stoby, joking that it was revenge from two years ago when he was beaten by Williamson. “It was a really good run. I was thankful that the guys pushed the pace this morning and we were able to have a competitive race throughout.”

Stoby said his strategy was to survive the steep climb out of Long Bay, then ease into the pace over the final two miles and on the last incline before the Carrot Bay decent, it was just him and Williamson as Farley fell off the pace. “I got the confidence to push a little bit more and noticed that he fell back,” Stoby said.

Williamson said the pace was fast and with the hills it mixed the terrain and a lot of hamstring and quad muscles were employed up and down the hills. “It’s really tiring on your body,” noted Williamson who played rugby on Friday night in nearby Capoons Bay. “Reuben showed some class again at the end. I didn’t have enough stamina to keep up in the end.”

Farley who pressed the pace up the hills said he developed some nasty stitches in the last mile. “I tried to press on but I just couldn’t keep up,” he said. “But it was a good race.”

In a similar fashion, women’s winner Rosmond Johnson walked on the steepest parts of the course but was able to keep Melissa Brunner who loves running hills at bay. “It was a bit challenging, the road was rocky and the hill was steep but I survived,” Johnson stated. “At one point, I thought Melissa was going to pass me, because I’m not really good at hills but I managed. I walked up and ran down fast. So I made it and I’m happy.”

Brunner said she faster on the incline then struggles on the decent. “I tried really hard to pass her on the up and tired to keep close to her on the down but not today,” she pointed out.